Lloyd took another hesitant step into the next patch of solid ground he could see… or, at least, he hoped it was solid. When his shoe didn’t sink in, he let out the breath he was holding.
“Ninten, can’t we find another way up?” Ana complained.
“Hey, I’m gettin’ us there, aren’t I? Valentine’s not too far ahead!”
Lloyd’s shoe sunk into the muddy dirt, and he managed to free it with a wet sucking noise and a sigh.
He and Ana had followed Ninten through this seemingly endless swamp for longer than Lloyd cared to think about, and his feet felt wet and slimy from the mud slipping inside his sneakers. This was officially one of the grossest things he’d ever done--and he had plenty of ‘experiments’ that could’ve taken that title.
Ninten suddenly stopped walking, and held out both arms to bar Ana and Lloyd. Startled by the sudden blockage and held in place by the mud, Lloyd almost lost his balance.
“Ninten, what-”
“Do ya see ‘em?”
Lloyd squinted and tried to figure out what Ninten was talking about… all he could see was mud and grass. Occasionally a breeze would--
Hold on. A breeze couldn’t blow such a short flower that far… was it moving?
“Hello?” Ninten asked.
All of the tiny white flowers suddenly turned to face away from them. Okay, so they were definitely moving, and responded to noise.
“C’mon, don’t be shy!”
Most of the flowers didn’t move… but one took a few hesitant steps out from the grass. Lloyd realized its stem was a bright red color--that didn’t make sense, and neither did its apparent lack of roots. The flower still faced the opposite direction, even as it approached them. What did that mean?
Ninten crouched down and tilted his head. “Well, who’re you?”
The flower… thing made a curious hum in response.
“So you can talk… okay. You gotta name?”
It let out a thoughtful hum… then a cheerful noise.
Ninten gasped. “Oh, wow! Uh… ‘Mimin’? Is that right?”
The creature (for lack of a better word) insistently repeated its little noise.
“Uh… ‘Mickmin’.”
Ana crouched down next to Ninten. “It sounds more like ‘Pikmin’.”
Suddenly, the whole crowd of flowers repeated “Pikmin!” in unison, and came rushing out of the grass.
“Pikmin!" Ninten laughed. "All right, well, you don’t seem Weird-ified. Lloyd, you ever seen these things before?”
Lloyd didn’t particularly want to get much closer, seeing as there was mud everywhere… but he did have an opportunity to see something new and interesting, and they’d probably be able to wash their clothes in Valentine anyways, so he knelt down to get a closer look.
It seemed there were all kinds of these things, in a variety of colors. Some of them were flowers, but some were only buds, and others were just single leaves. They had… eyes, and noses, and arms and legs. How were they growing flowers on their heads? And how were they loud enough to be heard? They were less than half the length of one of Ninten’s fingers--
“Don’t touch them!” Lloyd scolded, grabbing Ninten’s arm to pull his hand back. The Pikmin stumbled, foiled in their efforts to climb onto his hand.
YOU ARE READING
That's What Bein' A Friend Is About
أدب الهواة[cover art courtesy of _moonrise_art on twitter] Lloyd's partway through growing up in the suburban town of Thanksgiving. He doesn't have friends. The other kids at Twinkle Elementary bully him, and he's perfectly content to devote all of his free t...
